Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus, right, celebrates with Manchester City's Bernardo Silva after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Borussia Monchengladbach and Manchester City at the Puskas Arena stadium in Budapest, Hungary, on Feb. 24, 2021. Man City won 2-0.The Associated Press
The Portuguese connection of Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva combined for almost identical goals as Manchester City beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0 Wednesday to close in on a fourth straight appearance in the Champions League quarter-finals.
A 19th straight win for the Premier League leaders never looked in doubt in the last-16 first leg from the moment Cancelo, City’s playmaker at full back, pounced on a loose pass and swung in a cross from the left that Silva headed in at the far post in the 29th minute.
The same combination struck again in the 65th, Cancelo sending over a similar-looking cross this time to the byline, where Silva nodded the ball across goal for Gabriel Jesus to prod into the net from inside the six-yard box.
It was another dominant display by Pep Guardiola’s side, which is unbeaten in all competitions in more than three months and has won every game since mid-December.
City didn’t even need Kevin De Bruyne, its star player, who was an unused substitute on a night Cancelo – a tactically versatile defender – showed off the creative side that has made him one of Guardiola’s most important players this season.
The sight of record scorer Sergio Aguero coming on as a late substitute for his first appearance since Jan. 3 because of injury capped a night full of positives for City – except for the fact the margin of victory should have been wider at an empty Puskas Arena in Budapest. The game was played in Hungary because of coronavirus travel restrictions.
In Bergamo, Italy, Real Madrid struggled to break down 10-man Atalanta before Ferland Mendy netted an 86th-minute winner to give the Spanish giant a 1-0 win in the first leg of the round of 16 on Wednesday. The second leg will be on March 16 in Madrid.
City’s defence might be virtually impenetrable this season – Gladbach didn’t have a touch in City’s box until the 63rd minute and or a shot on target until the third minute of stoppage time – but there was a lack of cutting edge that clearly annoyed Guardiola, who cut a picture of frustration at times in the technical area.
Jesus, in particular, was a culprit especially when he was sent clean through in the 54th minute after intercepting a back-pass, only to dally on the ball and see his belated attempt at a shot blocked.
The Brazil striker made amends with the second goal, which should prove enough ahead of the second leg, scheduled for City’s Etihad Stadium on March 16. City last conceded two goals in its 2-0 loss at Tottenham in the Premier League on Nov. 21.
It’s that strong defensive unit created by Guardiola that could lead City to becoming European champion for the first time, after a number of painful eliminations in recent years. Guardiola has never reached the semi-finals with City since joining in 2016.
Alli scores wonder goal, Tottenham through in Europa League
LONDON — Dele Alli scored with an overhead kick and set up two other goals as Tottenham beat Wolfsberg 4-0 in the Europa League on Wednesday to become the first team to qualify for the last 16. Alli, handed a rare start by Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho, flicked the ball up after meeting a right-wing cross by Matt Doherty then leapt with his back to goal and directed an acrobatic effort into the bottom corner in the 11th minute of the second-leg match in the round of 32. The midfielder crossed for Carlos Vinicius to head in the second goal in the 50th then played in substitute Gareth Bale to curl a powerful 73rd-minute shot into the top corner. Vinicius added a fourth for Tottenham, which completed an 8-1 victory on aggregate over its Austrian opponent.